10-Year-Old Kuna Girl the Target of a Tik-Tok Scam

This is something that we often think will happen to other people, but the dangers of kids using social media has hit close to home. A 10-year-old girl from Kuna is the victim of a Tik-Tok scam that could have cost her parents everything financially. 

If you are unfamiliar with Tik-Tok, it's a popular video sharing app with tweens and teens.

According to an article on KTVB, the young girl got a message from an adult man who said he needed a "sugar baby" and then he tried to get the girl to share her parents bank account information. In return, he promised to spoil the girl with gifts and a weekly allowance.

After a few exchanges with the scammer, the girl did the right thing and showed the messages to her parents who called authorities.

The sheriff's office says in addition to communicating with your kids about these kids of apps, and monitoring their usage, you should make their accounts private so that they can only interact with people that they know.

Let this incident serve as a warning, that these kinds of things can and do happen in our community. It can happen to your kid, and if you haven't talk to your kids and set up some parameters with social media, now is the time to start taking action.

In addition to scams like this, social media and overusing technology can lead bullying, depression, and sometimes even suicide.

One of my favorite books that tackles this issue is "Glow Kids." It's strong reminder of how dangerous the online world is with some great tips on how we can handle it as parents.